Coy worked for the city's police force between 2010 and 2011, resigned and tried to return in January 2012.

Mooers' lawsuit, which the city moved from state court to federal court in San Antonio on Tuesday, said he warned that Coy was a problem.

On April 30, 2011, Coy was involved in the beating of a suspect who had set a small fire in front of an apartment complex, a video recording of the incident shows.

The recording from a patrol car's dashcam was provided to the San Antonio Express-News by Mooers' lawyer, Adam Poncio.

When Coy tried to get rehired, Mooers voted against him and informed others in the department of the beating incident and previous misconduct that got Coy booted from police squads in Arkansas, or forced him to resign there.

Soon after, the suit said, Mooers' supervisors began harassing Mooers and eventually fired him for “loitering,” which he said is not in the handbook, and “insubordination,” which he alleges the handbook poorly defined.

“The reason we fired this individual was because he ... was in the office when he was supposed to be on patrol,” said Charles Frigerio, a lawyer representing the city. “He basically stayed in the department reading the newspaper and didn't do any work.”

Frigerio said Mooers had been warned before, and was caught on videotape not working.

But Poncio disputed that, and said the city's reasons cited for firing Mooers are pretextual.

Chief Wayne Davis confirmed there was at least one allegation of excessive force against Coy, “but it was dealt with accordingly.”

Davis added that Coy didn't quit over the matter, but resigned to pursue a job in the private sector and left in good standing.

When Coy tried to get his job back, the selection process eliminated him, Davis said.

Davis and Frigerio said neither Coy's potential re-employment nor Mooers' military service were reasons for Mooers' firing.

The Express-News confirmed Coy faced controversy before working at Castle Hills.